


Chuck Becket-Hansen: Bird Rescuer

by BorrowedBlueBox



Series: Home Is Where My Family Is [23]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Chuck takes care of an injured bird, Fluff, Gen, M/M, sugar sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-03
Updated: 2015-06-03
Packaged: 2018-04-02 16:03:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4066078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BorrowedBlueBox/pseuds/BorrowedBlueBox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Keegan encounters an injured bird and begs Chuck to save the bird. Chuck pulls out all the stops to get the bird back on his feet.</p><p>Warning: Keegan is briefly sad, nothing too huge but she does cry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chuck Becket-Hansen: Bird Rescuer

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired after I found an injured bird my dad's truck around midnight Sunday morning and called my mom crying, asking her to help. My dad came outside less than five minutes later and stayed up until 1:30 am helping the bird (I named him Sam in real life too) and calming me down. I wrote this based on that experience. 
> 
> Shout out to my dad for being awesome and helping me take care of a wild bird that was hurt, for an hour and a half. Just one of the many times he's helped me with an injured animal. He's a total BAMF, legitimately my hero. 
> 
> Beta’d, however, if you see any mistakes please let me know and I’ll fix them right away.
> 
> Constructive criticism is accepted but please no negativity. Enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Pacific Rim. The only thing I own is a computer, internet connection, insomnia, and an account.

Chuck was in the kitchen when he heard the blood curdling scream come from his daughter in their backyard. He dropped the bowl of mixed fruit, spilling it on the counter as he ran to the back. His heart was beating faster than it ever had before. He’d felt this feeling before, drifting with his father, when the kaiju shut their Jaeger down in Hong Kong. He knew what it was; it was fear for your child.

“PAPA!!” Keegan screamed again.

Chuck had been inside getting a snack for the two while Keegan remained outside practicing kicking the soccer ball around. Raleigh was at work and Keegan had gotten out of school early and the two of them were enjoying the sunny day by playing soccer. It was a sport Chuck enjoyed and Raleigh and Chuck had found out that Keegan enjoyed it as well.

He was outside and by his distraught daughter’s side in less a minute.

“Keegan, are you okay? What’s wrong?” Chuck asked frantically, eyeing his daughter head to toe, checking for any injuries.

“There’s a bird, Papa.” She sniffled and pointed to a hole between their fence and their neighbor’s fence. 

“A bird? Keegan, why did you---“ Chuck began to ask as he moved closer to where his daughter was pointing, still whimpering.

“It’s hurt, Papa. The neighbor’s dog, Sabrina, hurt it. He’s hurt, Papa. Save him. Please.” Keegan cut Chuck off and began to cry again.

Upon closer inspection, Chuck had realized his daughter was right. There was a small bird, black or dark brown in color, lying on the ground twisted, attempting to stretch one of his wings. The bird remaining on his side, scooted himself around in an attempt to move himself. The action caused Keegan to cry harder and whimper about him being really hurt.

“You haven’t touched it right?” Chuck asked his daughter. She shook her head.

“No but you have to save him, Papa! Please! You have to save Sam!” Keegan plead as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Sam?” He asked, too worked up from adrenaline to be bothered that his daughter had named the animal and therefore had bonded with it.

“Yes. I named him Sam Wilson, you know, Falcon from Captain America. You have to save him! Please!” Keegan cried.

“Okay, okay, I’ll try, honey. Stay here, don’t touch him, no matter what. I’ll be right back.” Chuck instructed his daughter before running inside and to their garage, he grabbed a pair of his work gloves and ran back to his daughter.

Chuck returned to find his daughter kneeling near the bird, far enough away that she wouldn’t touch it, and was whispering things to the bird in between sobs. As Chuck got closer he could hear more of what she was saying.

“It’s okay, Sam. You’re going to be okay, baby. Papa’s gonna save you. Please don’t move, you could get hurt. I promise Papa will be back soon, he’ll save you, he’s good at saving things. He saved the world, you know. He’ll save you.” Keegan said to the bird while crying.

Chuck’s heart ached as he moved close to the bird. He wasn’t sure if he could save Sam and he didn’t want Keegan to be upset if the bird died.

“Watch out, Keegan. Move back a bit, please?” Chuck said as he knelt down by the bird, picking it up gently with his gloved hands.

As he was picking it up, he saw the bird move its leg, causing Keegan to whimper.

“No, shh. It’s okay. That means its legs are okay.” He assured his daughter who nodded.

Chuck inspected the wings, paying close attention to the wing that he had been lying on. The wings seemed to be fine, they were resting perfectly and he was able to stretch them both a bit. Sam didn’t take off, instead it seem to Chuck as if Sam relaxed into his touch. Chuck figured Sam was traumatized from whatever the dog had done to him and his self-preservation instincts had kicked in, causing him to act the way Keegan had found him.

“I think he’s gonna be okay, Keegs.” Chuck consoled his daughter.

“Are you sure?” She whimpered.

“Yeah, pretty sure, honey. His legs seem to be working, his neck is okay, and so are his wings.” Chuck informed Keegan who sniffled, wiping her face on her sleeve.

“But he was dying.” She said softly.

“I don’t think so. I think he was just playing possum.” Chuck said and smiled as Sam poked one of his gloved fingers with his beak.

“Playing possum? What does that mean?” She asked with a look of confusion all over her face.

“Playing dead. It’s self-preservation. He was disoriented from Sabrina attacking him and so he began to play dead so she’d leave him alone. He’s still a little traumatized, it’s gonna take a bit before he’s able to regain his wits.” Chuck explained.

“Can we watch him until he does?” Keegan asked.

“We can try, it may take all night, Keegan. If it gets late and he’s still disoriented, I’ll be sure to check on him when your Daddy leaves early in the morning tomorrow. I promise.” Chuck promised, he could see Keegan off to the side of him, sighing in relief. She nodded and the two made their way a shaded spot in their backyard by their lone willow tree.

“We don’t want to put him on any concrete, bricks, or rocks because they can take the heat out of him. Putting him in the tree isn’t a good idea either, he could fall. We’ll set him here on the grass by the tree. That way if he wants to fly, he can fly up into the tree.” Chuck explained and moved to find the best spot for Sam where he wouldn’t be in the sun too much and would be sheltered from the wind but that they could also still see him from the table in their backyard.

“Can I stroke his wing with your glove? Please, I’ll be soft.” Keegan’s voice cracked as she asked her question.

Chuck nodded and removed his glove, putting it on his daughter’s hand and guiding her hand with his non-gloved hand.

“Soft, honey.” He reminded her as he held her hand over Sam, helping her to stroke him.

After she’d done that, Chuck put Sam softly down in his spot and told Keegan to follow him. They went into the bathroom to wash their hands, Chuck put his gloves away. They managed to salvage their fruit salad and took it outside with them along with two juice boxes.

Sitting at the table facing towards where they could both keep an eye on Sam, who hadn’t flown away but seemed to be getting a tiny bit better.

The two stayed outside watching Sam, not realizing the time passing by. They kept up an endless conversation about several different topics. Once they’d finished their fruit, Keegan had moved to Chuck’s lap, facing towards Sam. Chuck had his arms wrapped around his daughter and rested his chin lightly on her head, keeping his eyes on Sam as well.

It wasn’t until Raleigh came home and walked into the backyard, greeting them, that they snapped out of their daze and realized how much time had passed.

“You guys okay?” Raleigh asked.

“Sabrina, the evil dog, hurt a bird, Sam, and Papa saved him.” Keegan informed Raleigh, pointing to where Sam was still in the same spot Chuck had put him in, now he was moving his head around more naturally though.

“Don’t worry, we didn’t touch him without gloves and then we washed our hands right after. He was playing possum after the dog attacked him. He’ll live.” Chuck added and smiled at his husband as he sat next to them.

“Sam? Keegan, did you name the bird?” Raleigh asked and shot Chuck a look that said ‘Lord help us.’ There was no way they could keep a wild bird and if Keegan had bonded with it, she wouldn’t let it go without a fight.

“Yes. I named him Sam Wilson. Falcon from Captain America. I know he’s not a falcon, but it was the first thing that came to mind.” Keegan informed Raleigh.

“We can’t keep him, Keegs.” Raleigh said carefully.

Keegan sighed and nodded.

“I know, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make sure he’s okay.” She replied.

“That is a fair point, Raleigh.” Chuck grinned at his husband who put his hands up in surrender.

“Okay fine, we’ll keep an eye on him.” Raleigh gave in.

It took a lot of coaxing for Keegan to actually go to sleep after they’d tucked her in. They promised to check on Sam before the two adults went to bed and promised to check on him before Raleigh left early in the morning. Satisfied that Sam would be checked on, Keegan fell asleep clutching her stuffed penguin with Max curled up at the foot of her bed, sleeping as well.

“So, saving birds, huh?” Raleigh asked and grinned at his husband. They were curled up together on the couch, winding down from their days before heading to bed.

“Yeah, well until I joined the Academy, I was surrounded by animals. I’m Australian so there were plenty of animals around. You know, I’m not just a sexy accent with a high kaiju kill count and the fastest Jaeger.” Chuck replied and matched Raleigh’s grin.

“No kidding. Chuck Becket-Hansen, the bird rescuer. I married a good one. You’re such a catch.” Raleigh said and kissed Chuck’s cheek.

“You’re such an asshole.” Chuck sneered and flashed Raleigh a glare.

“I meant it, Chuck.” Raleigh assured Chuck and Chuck smiled and rested his head on Raleigh’s shoulder.

“’Sides, I’m not a superhero or anything, at least not anymore because we’re not Jaeger pilots anymore.” Chuck murmured. Raleigh rolled his eyes and turned Chuck’s head to face him.

“You are to our daughter. And you are to me.” Raleigh spoke before Chuck kissed him.

**Author's Note:**

> My mom asks at the end, "Do we get to know what happens to the bird?!" If you're wondering about the bird, both in real life and in the story, Sam is fine! And no, they did not keep him. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed some cute Chuck being a BAMF and animal lover/rescuer! 
> 
> Thank you for all the support!


End file.
